Donley to forgo 14 days of pay for solidarity

Apr. 5, 2013 - 01:24PM
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Air Force Secretary Michael Donley will give 14 days worth of his yearly salary to charity as a sign of solidarity with Air Force civilians, who are expected to be furloughed for two weeks without pay this fiscal year, his spokeswoman said. (Air Force)

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Air Force Secretary Michael Donley will give 14 days worth of his yearly salary to charity as a sign of solidarity with Air Force civilians, who are expected to be furloughed for two weeks without pay this fiscal year, his spokeswoman said.

The furloughs are part of “sequestration,” massive cuts to defense spending that went into effect in March because Congress was unable to reach a deal on how to cut the deficit.

Although Donley is exempt from the budget cuts, he will make a contribution to the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund for the amount of pay he would have lost if he had been furloughed, Maj. Megan Schafer said in an email.

Donley makes a base salary of around $180,000 per year, so 14 days of salary — based on a 40-hour work week — would come to nearly $9,700 before taxes.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and the secretaries of the Army and Navy also have vowed to take a pay cut to show they stand with the 800,000 Defense Department civilian employees facing furlough.

President Obama also decided to return 5 percent of his yearly salary to the Treasury Department “to share in the sacrifice being made by public servants across the federal government,” a White House official said. The president’s salary is $400,000, so $20,000 is being kicked back, or 13 days worth. Those figures are based on a 40-hour week.